About

Big Bad Con 2017

$26,545

pledged of $3,000 goal

306

backers

Big Bad Con is a tabletop and live action gaming convention for teens and adults happening October 13-15, 2017 in the California Bay Area. We're a completely volunteer-run non-profit and wouldn’t exist without our passionate volunteers, players, talented game-masters and game designers.

Last year we added a teens track and speaker panels to our roster, and moved into a larger space at the Marriott in Walnut Creek. We also created Big Bad World, a “Powered by the Apocalypse” meta-game running all con long, which gamified and promoted our goals of every attendee being awesome to each other!

This year, there is so much more we want to do!

Big Bad Outreach

Part of the support we receive for the con this year will go towards our new outreach program. We're working with local schools and youth organizations to run tabletop games for teens in the Bay Area.

We're going to share our love of gaming with our community and give teens a chance to play some great games with our great GMs!

Board Game Room

For years we've been relegating board and card games to our open gaming spaces, but this year they are getting their own track and dedicated space!

We'll have games on the event schedule, a library of games for attendees to check out and play, and the play-to-win program that raffles off games played during the con!

Scholarship

Last year, with the help of the scholarship fund we were able to bring seven gamers out to the con who wouldn't have made it out otherwise. Several of our attendees want to contribute more! By adding the Wolf Rider Plus One, you can now buy a badge for yourself and one that goes into the scholarship fund to help financially challenged women, people of color, disabled and lgbtqia+ individuals attend the con!

Private Game Rooms for RPGs

Private rooms are the best. You can play music, decorate the room, change the lighting, turn the television into a giant monitor, enjoy your game undisturbed by noise from other tables, and order room service. You can divide the space up, run two games that are connected, even LARP in them. Private rooms are the dream, and we’ve got plenty at Big Bad Con!

Last year, thanks to the generosity of our backers we had 30 private rooms, which housed almost all our scheduled RPGs. This year we are shooting for even more!

All digital, All the time

One of the biggest pain points in past was transitioning from online signups before the con to manual signups at the con. There was confusion about where and how to sign up, and often when games were opened, slots were left unfilled because nobody knew that spaces were available.

This year our development team is working on mobile solutions that will include your schedule, let you know about open games, and link directly to the site to sign up for games. We'll also have computer kiosks at the registration desk to do the same.

Based on increased hotel costs and our expanding size, we're looking to raise $3000. Doing so means we can:

Keep our teens track, and extend the games available to teen players.

Continue hosting Big Bad Con at the Walnut Creek Marriott, where we have over 15,000 square feet of gaming space and plenty of spaces to eat, relax, and hang out.

Offer 35 private gaming rooms (with comfy chairs!).

Add a board game room.

Increase and improve our Games on Demand space.

Offer free badges to GMs and volunteers.

Big Bad Scholarship ($20 and up)

All funds collected from this pledge will go towards providing free badges and rooms for attendees who would otherwise not be able to attend.

Additionally your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters.

Adding a Scholarship to another pledge: You can add a scholarship to any other pledge level by increasing your pledge by $20 (or more). When the campaign closes and the BackerKit emails go out, you can assign the extra amount to the scholarship fund!

Hall of Heroes 2016

Wolf Rider ($50)

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Additionally you'll receive a special Kickstarter-exclusive pin and a 3-day badge to attend the con.

Big Bad Online ($60)

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Here are some of the awesome games that were run last year for Big Bad Online.

This pledge level does not include a badge, but one can be added for $50 (see add-ons below).

Little Red's Basket ($80)

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Additionally you'll receive a special Kickstarter-exclusive pin, a 3-day badge to attend the con, and we'll also bring a special treat to your table during one of your games.

In previous years the treats included savory items (homemade bread and hummus, crackers and cheese, seasons nuts, and samosas) as well as sweet treats (chocolate "whiskey" chip cookies, personal apples pies, toffee, and almond biscotti).

Immortal Hero ($100)

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

We'll also name one of the private gaming rooms after you or a cause you support. Everyone who plays a game in that room will have you to thank!

This pledge level does not include a badge, but one can be added for $50 (see add-ons below).

Wolf Rider Plus One ($100)

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Additionally you'll receive a special Kickstarter-exclusive pin and a 3-day badge to attend the con and add a full badge's worth of support ($50) to the scholarship fund.

Baba Yaga's Mystery Box ($150)

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters.

You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.
We will also ship you a curated mystery box full of hand-picked or hand-crafted items from some of these amazing contributors: Sophie Lagacé, Jason Morningstar, Divine Cheshire, Atomic Pixies, Jenny Haines, Jackson Tegu, Robert Bowen, Jen Massie, Jason Van Glass, Jen Rowan, and more to come!

What will you find in this box of treasures? Nano games? Exclusive art? Gaming tools? Handcrafted gems? Back it and find out!

This pledge level does not include a badge, but one can be added for $50 (see add ons below).

Paw Prints ($250)

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Additionally you'll receive a special Kickstarter-exclusive pin, a 3-day badge to attend the con, and we'll also bring a special treat to your table during one of your games.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of these books' publishers and creators, this also includes signed copies of these amazing games:

Blades in the Dark Special Edition

Torchbearer

Dresden Files Accelerated

Kaiju Incorporated Card Game

Plus a few mystery items to go with it. Thank you to Burning Wheel HQ, One Seven Design, Evil Hat, and Vainglorious Games for supporting the con and making this pledge level possible!

Power to the Teens ($300)

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

We'll also name one of the Big Bad Teen event rooms after you or a cause you support. Everyone who enjoys a larp, workshop, or special event in that room will have you to thank!

This pledge level does not include a badge, but one can be added for $50 (see add-ons below).

Grandma's Cottage ($500)

This is amazing!
Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Additionally you'll receive:

A special Kickstarter-exclusive pin

A 3-day badge to attend the con

Little Red's Basket of treats delivered during one of your games.

A very special Baba Yaga Mystery Box including items from our contributors as well as the convention staff!

Your name, organization, or cause will be an official sponsor of the con and be featured at the registration desk!

The Wolf and Little Red ($1,000)

Become one of our our official convention sponsors. Your name, logo of an company or cause will featured at the registration desk, in the program, on our site as, and on table tents at each table as official sponsors.

Every attendee at the con will know they have you to thank for making Big Bad Con happen!

You'll also receive five 3-day badges to attend the con. You can use these yourself or add them to our scholarship fund!

Want to be a sponsor and get a badge?

Extra Wolf Rider badges are a $50 add-on to any pledge.

Extra Little Red's Basket badges are a $80 to any pledge.

Scholarship funds to help others attend can be added to any pledge.

Add-on Instructions

Press the "Manage" button above. If you have not pledged yet, it will say "Back This Project."

Click on Change your Pledge.

Increase your pledge level in the "Pledge Amount" box by the total of the add-ons you want to add.

After the end of the Kickstarter campaign you will receive a BackerKit survey that will allow you to assign the additional amount pledged to other rewards.

Once the con is funded, we're very excited to start making it EVEN better by bringing out some amazing special guests. Check out this fancy pic and all the details below!

$4000 - We'll bring out Laura Simpson (Funded)

Laura Simpson is the author of Driving to Reunion and Companions’ Tale (forthcoming). With her expertise in interaction design and interactive art, Laura brings a formal design process and a dedication to frequent iteration to her game projects.

Together with Dev Purkayastha, Laura will be running these awesome events:

Companions' Tale

Love Commander

Other games to be announced!

$5,500 - We'll bring out Dev Purkayastha (Funded)

Dev Purkayastha is the author of The Dance and the Dawn and Love Commander (forthcoming). Dev’s work draws upon a variety of inspirational source material, such as music, melodrama, space opera and video game culture.

Together with Laura Simpson, Dev will be running these awesome events:

Companions' Tale

Love Commander

Other games to be announced!

$7,000 - We'll bring out Alex Roberts (Funded)

Alex Roberts is a writer, designer, and journalist in the wonderful world of tabletop and live-action roleplaying. When not hosting her acclaimed interview podcast Backstory on the ONE SHOT Network, she freelances for companies like Pelgrane Press and Bully Pulpit Games, as well as outlets like Storycade and VICE. Keep up with her if you can, at www.helloalexroberts.com.

Alex will be running these awesome events:

Tension, her in-progress 2-player Jenga-based game of forbidden love

We Are Roommates Now, a silly game about alien relations by Wendy Gorman

$8,500 - We'll bring out Kathryn Hymes (Funded)

Kathryn Hymes is 50% of the indie studio Thorny Games, where she makes games about language and cryptography. In her designs, Kathryn wants to tell stories in unorthodox, original settings from voices that may have otherwise been unheard. Full of math and computational linguistics, Kathryn is an active voice in the Indie RPG community where she aims to make games more approachable to new enthusiastic faces. She is also a co-host of the Game Design Round Table podcast and a 2016 GenCon Industry Insider. Kathryn has been to Transnistria and hopes to go back some day.

Kathryn will be running these awesome events:

Dialect

Sign

A new project from Thorny Games...

$10,000 - We'll bring out Hakan Seyalioglu (Funded)

Hakan Seyalioglu is the other 50% of Thorny Games, an independent design studio of larps and RPGs that tells new and unconventional stories. In his design, he’s deeply explored what language means for us culturally and emotionally, and how it can be an engaging mechanic for play. A GenCon Industry Insider and active member of the Bay Area design community, Hakan hopes to spread the word of play as a tool for empathy and understanding. Apart from games, Hakan helps computers keep secrets and crack codes (a genuine cryptographer). He really enjoys breakfast.

Hakan will be running these awesome events:

Dialect

Sign

A new project from Thorny Games...

$12,500 - We'll bring out Tora Shae (Funded)

ToraShae is a very blerdy correspondent for BlackGirlNerds.com where she is a podcaster, vlogger, writer, and more! You can hear her voice on the podcasts she cohosts: BlackGirlNerds, GimmeMoreSugar, ItsLitInColor, and InFrontOfCompany.

She also does recaps on BlackGirlNerd's YouTube channel where she obsesses over Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and her favorite anime! Check her out!

A Week in SF: 3 days of play, socializing, and exploring SF before BBC.

A design workshop around making use of fluctuating player energy

An emotional immersion larp, to be announced

$17,000 - We'll bring out Tracy Barnett (Funded)

Tracy Barnett is a tabletop game designer and author from Columbus, OH. In 2013 he won the Judges' Spotlight ENnie for his first game, School Daze. He co-runs Exploding Rogue Studios (Iron Edda), freelances for various companies including Evil Hat (Karthun: Lands of Conflict, The Agency), and runs an RPG actual play podcast called TheOtherCast. He also writes on occasion for Gnome Stew and Critical Hits. You can find him online @TheOtherTracy.

Tracy will be running these awesome events:

Iron Edda: War of Metal and Bone (Fate)

Karthun: Lands of Conflict (Fate)

Camp Adventure (D&D 5th Edition)

$18,500 - We'll bring out Jason Morningstar (Funded)

Jason Morningstar is a game designer who lives in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Best known for his game Fiasco, which earned him his second Diana Jones Award for Gaming Excellence, Jason’s game design credits include The Shab Al-Hiri Roach, Grey Ranks, Durance, Night Witches, and many other games.

Beyond roleplaying, Jason consults on the use of games for teaching and learning, most recently with Google Austria, the University of Michigan, Kaiser-Permanente Health Care, and the Innovation Learning Network. In addition to design, Jason has written extensively on game-related topics. His article “Beyond the Game Master,” co-written with Emily Care Boss and Ivan Vaghi, appeared in States of Play: Nordic Larp Around the World. His essay on improvisation, “Agreement, Endowment, and Knowing When to Shut Up” was recently featured in the anthology Unframed: The Art of Improvisation for Game Masters.

Jason will be bringing all kinds of weird fun to Big Bad Con, including a live action game about the abuse of power and some interesting Fiasco-related surprises.

22,500 - We'll bring out Jared Sorensen (Funded)

Jared A. Sorensen is the creator of several RPGs and strange games, including InSpectres, Lacuna Part I and Action Castle.
He lives in New York City with 8.5 million other people. Find him online at memento-mori.com.

Jared will be running Parsely games including two new releases: Action Castle III and Dangertown Beatdown!

Risks and challenges

This is the seventh year we have hosted Big Bad Con and every year I walk away from it exhausted from the work and elated from the success.

While each of these has been a challenge, we've always pulled through. We’ve incorporated as a nonprofit 501c3, expanded our room blocks, navigated through tough hotel negotiations, and called on an array of excellent GMs to run games in a pinch!

I'm confident we can tackle any obstacles that come our way in 2017. We want to deliver the best roleplaying convention experience with you and for you!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $80 or more
About $80

Little Red's Basket

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Additionally you'll receive a special Kickstarter-exclusive pin, a 3-day pass to attend the con, and we'll also bring a basket of treats to your table during one of your games. See below for what we included last year!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

Wolf Rider Plus One

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Additionally you'll receive a special Kickstarter-exclusive pin, and a 3-day pass to attend the con. You'll also contribute one badge to the Big Bad Con scholarship to help another attendee make it to the con!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

Paw Prints

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Additionally you'll receive a special Kickstarter-exclusive pin, a 3-day pass to attend the con, and we'll also bring a basket of treats to your table during one of your games. See below for what we included last year!

Finally you'll get signed copies of these amazing games: Blades in the Dark (special edition), Kaiju Incorporaited Card Game, Torchbearer, and Dresden Files Accelerated. There were also be a few mystery items included!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

Grandma's Cottage

This is amazing!

Your name, organization, or cause will appear on the Big Bad Con Hall of Heroes as one of our supporters. You'll also be commemorated on the website and in our program.

Additionally you'll receive a special Kickstarter-exclusive pin, a 3-day pass to attend the con, and we'll also bring a basket of treats to your table during one of your games. See below for what we included last year!

You'll also get a spot in a Big Bad Online game with game designer John Harper and a very special Baba Yaga Mystery Box including items from our contributors as well as the convention staff!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

The Wolf

Become one of our our official convention sponsors. Your name, logo of an company or cause will featured at the registration desk, in the program, on our site as, and on table tents at each table as official sponsors.

Every attendee at the con will know they have you to thank for making Big Bad Con happen!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

Little Red

Become one of our our official convention sponsors. Your name, logo of an company or cause will featured at the registration desk, in the program, on our site as, and on table tents at each table as official sponsors.

Every attendee at the con will know they have you to thank for making Big Bad Con happen!